Fire Emblem Fates (ファイアーエムブレムif Faia Emuburemu Ifu Fire Emblem if in Japan), is a Japanese tactical role-playing game for the Nintendo 3DS, developed by Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo. It is the fourteenth game in the Fire Emblem series. It was released on June 25, 2015 in Japan, and will be released on February 19, 2016 in America. However, the European release date has yet to be revealed. Furthermore, Fire Emblem Fates is a first title in the franchise that will be officially released in South Korea. The game is rated C (CERO) in Japan, and T (ESRB) in America.
This title features the first title split, in which two different versions of the game exist, each one with a unique story. Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright (ファイアーエムブレムif 白夜王国 Fire Emblem if Byakuya Oukoku Fire Emblem if: White Night Kingdom) follows the story of the Avatar, joining the Kingdom of Hoshido and Fire Emblem Fates Conquest (ファイアーエムブレムif 暗夜王国, Fire Emblem if Anya Oukoku Fire Emblem if: Dark Night Kingdom) which follows the story of the Avatar, joining the Kingdom of Nohr instead. A limited edition version was released in Japan, containing both storylines plus a third storyline titled Fire Emblem Fates Revelation (ファイアーエムブレムif インビジブル・キングダム Fire Emblem if Invisible Kingdom), also released as DLC and involves the player aligning with neither kingdom. It has been released concurrent with the other versions.
Release
Fire Emblem Fates was first revealed in the January 2015 Nintendo Direct and was released in Japan on June 25th, 2015 while it will be released in North America on the 19th of February 2016 and Europe in early 2016. It is developed by the same team that created the previous title; Fire Emblem: Awakening and Yūsuke Kozaki designed the characters of the game as well. Manga writer Shin Kibayashi has joined the writing team. According to Satoru Iwata during the Nintendo Direct, the player will have to make numerous choices during the game that will affect the overall story. Unlike past games where choices had little effect on the story, these will be larger choices, and the player will face greater challenges.
In the April 2015 Nintendo Direct it was revealed that the game will revolve around two kingdoms about to enter a great war with each other: the peace-loving country of Hoshido and the glory-seeking country of Nohr. The player will have to choose a country to represent, changing the story overall and will affect the difficulty, which is predetermined by the version of the game bought. There are two versions of the game, each one following a specific story line. Byakuya Oukoku follows the Hoshido storyline which is designed to be friendly for all players, returning or new. Anya Oukoku follows the Nohr storyline which is designed to be much more challenging. There will be a digital copy of the game which allows the player to determine which version they wish to experience. At the end of Chapter 6, the player will have to choose their faction, permanently locking their digital copy into that storyline for all files on the game there and after. DLC will be available for all versions of Fates in which the storyline not chosen will be playable on that copy of the game. A third storyline option was also released as DLC sometime after release which revolves around the player choosing neither side. A special edition of the game containing all three paths is available, also after launch of the original two.
Japanese video game website 4Gamer posted an interview with the Fates development team on April 28th, 2015. The interview covered a few more details regarding the storyline. The Hoshido route is designed to be more like Awakening, allowing players to train units outside of battle. The Nohr route will be more challenging with less funds and experience on top of more diverse victory tactics compared to Awakening. Players can also adjust the difficulty of the Nohr route if it becomes too difficult. All versions of the game will be the same about 1/6th of the way through, but the rest of the game for all three versions will be different. The idea of choice in the game was inspired from Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi and its remake Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon where the player was given the choice between recruiting Samson or Arran, but not both. They also decided to make the third route to give the players an option to not vilify one side. For downloaded copies, after the player has purchased the game, once they start Chapter 6, they will be given the choice to choose a side, which will automatically download that side onto the player's system. This will permanently lock them onto this route unless the other storyline is purchased. Details about the third storyline were slightly discussed, revealing that the difficulty of the third route is between the Hoshido and Nohr routes. All characters will appear on all routes, though the story route chosen will bring out different characteristics and personalities from them.
In the E3 2015 Digital Event, Fire Emblem Fates's official localized name was revealed. GameInformer, in June 2015, revealed that like Japan, North America will receive two different versions called Birthright for the Hoshido side and Conquest for the Nohr side. The November 2015 Nintendo direct confirmed that North America would also receive a special edition containing all three storyline routes. Customers with this version will have Revelations available from the launch date. Alternatively, customers who buy the split versions have the option to buy the opposite storyline at a reduced cost and Revelations. Revelations will not be available for non-Special Edition copies until March 10th, 2016. The first wave of DLC was also confirmed for Fates and can be bought in its entirety for a reduced cost or separately for full price. Like Awakening, these DLC packs will be released in on a weekly basis.
Plot
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Beginning
The player will take on the role of an Avatar who was born to Hoshido royalty, but raised by the Nohr royal family. On the brink of war, the player must choose whether to follow the destiny tied to their birthplace or the fate bound to the country that raised them. Siding with the Hoshido kingdom will involve the player defending it from the invading Nohr kingdom. Aligning with the Nohr kingdom will involve the player in a revolution within the Nohr kingdom. There is an option to not align with either path; this will reveal a new story responsible for the events of Fire Emblem Fates. During the events of all three paths, the Avatar faces many problems along the way, forcing them to make hard choices throughout the story, some of which result in the death of certain characters.
Having come of age, the Avatar is sent by Garon on missions against the Hoshidan army. They end up going to Hoshido after their companion Gunter falls into a chasm when Hans suddenly attacks him. Wandering in shock, they are captured by Rinkah. Recognized as one of the Hoshido royal family, the Avatar is brought to meet their relatives at the capital city, along with Azura. Nohr soldiers then attack the city, with a hooded assassin who attempts to kill the Avatar. Mikoto, the Avatar's biological mother and queen of Hoshido, shields them at the cost of her life. In the aftermath, the Avatar comes into possession of a legendary sword called Yato, said to belong to the one who will save the world.
In the opening battle between the two kingdoms, the Avatar's two families meet, and the Avatar is forced to choose between Hoshido and Nohr. In the Birthright and Conquest routes, the Avatar chooses either their hereditary or adopted family respectively. This causes them to be denounced by the other side, and they are gradually forced to fight them.
Birthright
In the Birthright route, the Avatar helps their Hoshido kin defend their country from invasion by the Nohr. While Camilla and Leo are spared after their fights with the Avatar, Elise is killed when she attempts to stop the Avatar and Xander fighting. Broken, Xander lets himself die.
Conquest
In the Conquest route, the Avatar both fights in the war against Hoshido, and works with his adoptive family to oust Garon from the throne. Fighting and sparing their Hoshidan siblings Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura, they are then ordered by Garon to kill Ryoma. After they fight, Ryoma spares the Avatar the agony of killing their own brother by killing himself. However, after the impostor is defeated, Takumi, possessed by Anankos, attacks the Avatar, and the Avatar is forced to kill Takumi in order to defeat Anankos.
In both routes, the Avatar confronts Garon and reveals him to be a monster serving the dragon Anankos who killed and replaced the real Garon and has been provoking the war. Azura exhausts her powers helping defeat the false Garon and dies.
Revelation
In the DLC route, Revelation, the Avatar rejects both sides and is denounced as a traitor to both. Fleeing with Azura, the Avatar is led by her through the chasm from the game's opening, which happens to be the one Gunter fell into, to the Invisible Kingdom of Valla. She reveals that Anankos usurped the throne after murdering the previous king and is now influencing human hearts as an act of revenge due to a forgotten debt owed by them to the dragon race. Azura herself is the daughter of the previous king, and both her and the Avatar will die if they reveal the Invisible Kingdom to anyone outside it. The two form a plan to kill Anankos in the hope that it will end his influence over Hoshido and Nohr.
Fleeing the Invisible Kingdom with Gunter, who survived his earlier fall into the chasm and wound up in Valla, Azura reveals that the only way to access it again is to bring peace between the nations. The Avatar travels through Hoshido and Nohr, gradually gaining the trust and allegiance of their hereditary and adopted families, as well as their retainers and other members of the army. During their journey together, the two families gradually overcome their differences.
Once the group finds the way to the Invisible Kingdom, the party head to confront Anankos. During their journey, they battle the resurrected forms of Mikoto, Azura's mother Arete, and former Hoshidan king Sumeragi, the latter of whom is revealed to be Mikoto's assassin. They are eventually betrayed by a possessed Gunter, but the Avatar succeeds in freeing Gunter from Anankos' control. When they face Anankos, they are initially helpless, but Ryoma, Takumi, Xander, and Leo feed the power of their weapons into Yato, transforming it into the Fire Emblem. Near death after being defeated, Anankos summons then eats the false Garon to regain his strength, but is finally destroyed with the Fire Emblem. In the aftermath, Azura crowns the Avatar as the new ruler of Valla and a lasting peace is established between the three kingdoms.
Hidden Truths
Returning Features
- The player can create an Avatar for the game.
- The player has more customizable options for their Avatar than in Awakening except for body size which has been reduced to two per gender.
- Female Avatars have special hair accessories.
- Special clothing similar to Shin Monsho no Nazo can be equipped on all units in the game via My Castle. These include hats, masks, clothes, and gloves which can be worn in battle and have a variety of stat boosts. Like classes, these will be absent in CGI cutscenes.
- The Pair Up and Dual System functions from Awakening return under new tactics called Attack Stance and Guard Stance.
- In addition, the enemy can use the Attack Stance and Guard Stance unlike the enemies in Awakening, which did not use the Dual System at all.
- The game has voice acting, much like Awakening.
- Each version of the game changes the format of overall gameplay outside of the storyline.
- The Hoshido path offers unlimited amounts of gold, and as such, experience. The player can level up characters outside of the storyline chapters by paying a fee to initiate a Skirmish, similar to using a Reeking Box. Like Awakening, map victory conditions will mostly be either rout the enemy or defeat the boss.
- The Nohr path is more structured, with experience and funds being are much more limited and more victory conditions are present such as defending a base, breaking through the enemy lines, and turn restrictions for certain maps.
- The Invisible Kingdom path is a mid-set of difficulty between the first two paths; being more difficult than the Birthright path but less difficult than the Conquest path.
- Like in Conquest, certain conditions will be necessary to complete the map, but like Birthright, the majority objectives of the story are either rout the enemy or defeat the boss.
- Skirmishes are included, with unlimited gold like Birthright.
- All character classes from both paths are available. Also, all buildings available in My Castle in both paths are included as well.
- Skills make a return in the game and units can learn new skills as they level up.
- Each unit (Excluding amiibo units) is given one fixed skill that is unique to them and always equipped to them. They also have 5 additional skill slots to equip whatever skill their character learns.
- Reclassing and Promotion Branching are featured in the game.
- The Heart Seal allows a unit to reclass into their secondary class at the same tier, but does not reset levels nor can it demote a unit like the Second Seal.
- Units can gain more reclass options by using a Buddy Seal with a friend and the Marriage Seal with their spouse.
- Monsters similar to the Risen, called Faceless, make an appearance.
- StreetPass makes a return, along with online features that work in a similar fashion.
- Casual Mode is available.
- Like Fire Emblem Gaiden, Weapon Durability is not featured in the game. However, Staves retain their limited uses.
- Knives returns from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn under a new weapon class: Hidden Weapon.
- The Support system from Awakening returns with unique conversations.
- S-Supports and Marriage return alongside of Children characters. Unlike Genealogy of the Holy War and Awakening, children are determined by their fathers while their hair colors are determined by their mothers.
- Marriage causes the two characters to share their respective classes and secondary classes with each other. Children also adopt their parent's classes.
- Players can have same-sex S-Supports for their Avatar if they form one with Niles or Rhajat.
- A total of 9 save slots are available for the player to use in the special edition and eShop version of the game, 3 in the standalone Birthright and Conquest copies.
- Capture returns from Thracia 776, though completely reworked.
- Special DLC maps return with a variety of rewards for completing them. Characters appearing in these are Elincia, Chrom, Lissa, Frederick, and Anna, Anna being recruitable in one of her appearances.
New Features
- New weapons, including Katanas, Naginatas, Kanabōs, Ofuda, Shuriken, and Batons.
- Most classes are separated by routes, meaning that some are exclusive to a side.
- New Nohr Classes: Nohr Prince/Princess, Maid, Butler, Malig Knight, Dark Blood, Wolfskin and Mánagarm.
- New Hoshido Classes: Songstress, Oni Savage, War Priestess, Ninja, Mechanist, Weapon Master, Spear Fighter, Blacksmith, Basara, Mountain Priest, Kinshi Knight , Master Ninja, White Blood, Kitsune and Nine-Tailed Fox.
- All classes are unisex such as the Sky Knight compared to the long running Pegasus Knight class which was female exclusive in all previous games.
- However, some DLC classes such as Ballistician and Witch are exclusive to males and females respectively.
- Several characters are exclusively playable to a particular route such as the Nohrian and Hoshidan royalty siblings. Others are playable in both routes.
- All royalty characters, including the Avatar, have the ability known as Dragon Vein, which allows them to alter the terrain at certain locations on a map.
- A new mode called "Phoenix Mode" is introduced, which revives any fallen allied character on the next turn.
- Gameplay mode style can be changed during a playthrough if the game proves to be too difficult for the player to progress. Players can change from Classic Mode to Casual Mode and then to Phoenix Mode but not in reverse. The storyline will be unaffected by gameplay mode changes.
- The Weapon Triangle has been revised. The triangle flow now works as follows:
- Sword and Magic > Axe and Bow > Lance and Hidden Weapons > Sword and Magic
- Weapons have built in stat modifiers including increased Critical avoid or decreased defense stats.
- A customizable village called "My Castle" allows players to build their own village.
- amiibo support for four of the Fire Emblem representatives in Super Smash Bros. characters: Ike, Marth, Robin, and Lucina, which will allow players to recruit each character as well as a special item. A Roy and Corrin amiibo are in production and may follow suit.
- Avoidable and unavoidable deaths are present in Fire Emblem: Fates; some of these characters can be saved by meeting certain requirements, while others will always die on those paths. These deaths come from specific characters that join the Avatar regardless of their choice, or royal family members from either side depending on what route is taken.
- A+ Support Ranks, which allows units to use Buddy Seals to be able to reclass into one of their friend's classes.
- Einherjar-esque bonus units are featured in Fates. These characters can be accessed via Fire Emblem Cipher TCG codes. It is unknown if the cipher codes will be available for international release. These cards include Marth, Lucina, and Minerva.
Characters
- See main article: List of characters in Fire Emblem Fates.
Chapters
- See main article: List of chapters in Fire Emblem Fates.
Classes
- See main article: List of classes in Fire Emblem Fates
Gallery
